A few years ago now, I was in Melbourne on holiday with the kids when we found ourselves in a (rather upmarket) "surfie" shop in Yarra Rd.
It was there I saw this guy trying on a sweatshirt. I noticed this because I was thinking about buying it myself. As it turns out, the sweatshirt was a little too big for him so he took it off and put it back on the rack.
Subsequently, I tried it on myself. The guy was still near, and as I turned around he said to me, "it looks much better on you buddy", or words to that effect. Good enough for me, so I thanked him and took it to the counter to complete the purchase.
There, the shop guy asked me if I knew who it was that I was talking to. When I said no, he looked at me rather incredulously and said, "wow, I thought everyone knew who Eddie Vedder was. Take a look." I turned around and yes, it was the Pearl Jam vocalist in the flesh, now surrounded by people who actually did recognise him.
I grabbed a marker pen from the counter and went back to him and asked if he would autograph the sweatshirt, which he did. A few more pleasantries were swapped and we went our separate ways. He was rather a nice chap, seemingly unaffected by the burden of fame. When I got back to NZ and ended up giving the sweatshirt to a real Pearl Jam fan.
